Author Archives: jim

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).Could you get any more graphic, more specific, more all-inclusive words? All … Continue reading →

Have you noticed that everything in your life wears out? The sweater that you loved so much and wore winter after winter is now stuffed in the bottom drawer of your dresser, threadbare, unused, and unwanted. The car that excited … Continue reading →

Our prayers are sometimes not answered because we pray in vague generalities. When all our prayers are either vague or universal in their scope, it is difficult to experience the exhilaration that goes with clear and obvious answers to prayer. … Continue reading →

There is a crisis of worship in our land. People are staying away from church in droves. One survey indicated that the two chief reasons people drop out of church are that it is boring and irrelevant. If people find … Continue reading →

John Calvin’s third rule of prayer was that we must always pray with genuine feeling. Prayer is a matter of passion: “Many repeat prayers in a perfunctory manner from a set form, as if they were performing a task to … Continue reading →

For John Calvin, prayer was like a priceless treasure that God has offered to His people. Calvin’s first rule of prayer was to enter into it with a full awareness of the One to whom we are speaking. The key … Continue reading →

This is part of a larger study by Dr. Boice. I thought this might be edifying. The theme is “Temptation” and his text is 1 Corinthians 10 : 1 – 22. There is a second truth we should learn from … Continue reading →

Well, it’s that season once again. It’s the fodder for blogs, newspaper articles, TV magazine shows and way too many Twitter posts. It is the time for the annual ritual of dramatic New Year’s resolutions fueled by the hope of … Continue reading →

Our relationship with the Lord is never anything other than a relationship of grace. It’s grace that brought us into His family. It’s grace that keeps us in it and it’s grace that will continue us in it forever. But … Continue reading →

When David says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” (Psalm 51:10) he’s admitting the one thing we don’t want to admit. He’s confessing to the depth of his moral dilemma. He’s looking at life God’s way. He’s saying, … Continue reading →